Ephemerality
by Azeleas
Summary: Suddenly seeing someone in a different light because you know they're in love with you is a sad thing. AU.


Their slow, steady footfalls is all that Koala's been hearing for a while now. She doesn't remember how long they've been walking on this seemingly endless road. She hasn't really been paying attention to where they going, either.

Wait.

That doesn't sound right.

The last thing Koala remembers is getting ready for work and meeting Sabo on her way there. He was on the phone, a look of utter happiness on his face. She heard him murmur a quick goodbye to whoever he was talking to before hanging up, when he saw her.

Koala wished she didn't know who he was talking to so happily, but she did. She even felt confident about knowing who the other person on the receiving end was. After all, there was only one person, other than his brothers, who knew how to make him smile like that so effortlessly.

_"Are you going to work?"_

_"After I buy a book on historical material in Goa Kingdom. What about you?"_

_"I need to look after the store now."_

_"So we will go part of the way together."_

_"Yeah."_

She is back at staring at her feet now that she remembers why she's here with Sabo. He just kept on walking in front of her, completely oblivious of her internal conflict. She inwardly cursed him. There was a fleeting moment when she caught him looking at her, and it irked her because she was already so restless from simply being here with him alone.

_Oh, actually, there's this book that I wanted to buy for the longest time. Maybe I'll go with you._

_I see._

_Can I go with you?_

_Sure._

_If you don't mind, do you want to go get lunch together as well?_

_What about looking after the store?_

_It's fine. Hack is already there._

She sighed, and brushed her hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear. Many words came to her mind, but they all seemed too strained and embarrassing. She couldn't even bring them to her lips. So she just absentmindedly watched the blond hair that she likes so much turn limpid in the winter sunlight.

She let out another sad sigh, mustering up enough courage to say something. Anything was fine as long as she didn't let her mind wander too far.

"Hey, Sabo?", she said, biting the inside of her burning cheek.

He turned around a bit, enough for him to look at her from the corner of his eye. "Yeah?", he said smiling.

"How's your current job?"

His eyes grew soft and warm. "Well, I guess it's doing okay." he said, looking in front of him again, smile still present on his lips.

"Is it just the two of you? Aren't you hiring other people?" she asked curiously. She didn't know if she even wanted to know the answer to that question.

"Robin thinks that getting more workers brings other problems.", he said, his voice turning low and soft. "So I think we'll just do what the two of us can do for a while."

"I see..." She didn't know what possessed her to ask that of him, but she's glad she did. It's just that she didn't anticipate the burning sting in her heart from hearing Sabo say _'the two of us'_.

"That sounds like fun.", she said in a hushed tone, looking down at her feet, desperately trying to hide her distraught expression.

And then, silence.

Looking up again, she saw Sabo completely turned towards her, gazing, face unreadable.

Koala's cheeks flared with colour and warmth, turning her eyes away from his searching ones. She sucked in a sharp breath, heart racing beneath her ribs. She didn't dare to meet his face.

"S-sorry. I-I should... um... get going to the store.", she said adamantly, avoiding eye-contact. She didn't know what to do so she ran as fast as her legs and feet would take her. She felt as if she could fall over at any moment with the complete loss of control on her legs. She could loose her balance and stumble at any moment, but those thoughts where the least of her worries.

She was getting frustrated for feeling so saddened by just those words. And she couldn't stop the mounting frustration she felt at herself for venting that frustration on Sabo...

* * *

><p>"Ace? H-hey, Ace... Is L-Luffy f-f-friends with Law now?", Sabo asked incredulously. To say he didn't take the news well was a severe understatement. He was rather appalled and infuriated thinking about his baby brother spending a great amount of time with someone like Law. "Isn't there something you can do about it? I mean, you guys work together, right?"<p>

"...I don't know how Luffy feels...", Ace replied, trying and failing to keep his voice neutral, "But Law probably..."

_Sabo, please don't ask me that..._

_I'm begging you._

_Not that._

* * *

><p>A rustling sound could be heard behind Ace. He didn't need to look to know who was intruding him so late at night, knowing the amount of times it happened in the past.<p>

"Are you smoking again?" Luffy said irritably, after he made his way down to Ace. "What are you doing down here, hiding in the dark?"

"Same goes for you. You shouldn't be walking around in the middle of the night." he argued with deliberate slowness. "Go to sleep, Lu."

"I couldn't get any sleep because of Sabo. He started nagging again about me being friends with Torao.", he explained, taking a seat next to Ace. They were currently all alone in the small park located next to their apartment building. A comfortable silence fell over them before he spoke again.

"Want to sleep together?"

"Sure. Let's."

A gasp made its way past Luffy's lips, eyes widening.

"Just kidding.", the older one lied, taking a long drag from his cigarette before letting it pour from his mouth.

Luffy chuckled softly, leaning back into the bench they were seated on, arms crossed behind his head. "I'm not laughing. You're in love with me, aren't you?"

"Sure am." Ace breathed, taking another drag and flicking the ashes to the ground. He was still not looking at Luffy. "Now that it's so obvious, I can't pretend I'm not."

* * *

><p>I don't get it", Law said, focusing his attention on the boy who came to visit him. "You're not pushing him away, but rather, you're tormenting him."<p>

Luffy was sitting directly opposite him, looking a little fidgety and unsure. He hasn't seen the boy act like this before.

He regarded him closely, brows furrowed over dark eyes. "Is it perhaps that you want to keep him 'on the bench' in case your first choice doesn't work out?"

Luffy stilled his fidgeting and sat straight. He tried to subtly let his face go blank, knowing he was failing miserably. "That's not it.", he objected, his voice low and dark.

"Of course not. How foolish of me."

There was a moment of silence between them. Law had to choose his words more carefully next time.

"Torao, I really don't know what's going on anymore.", he said weakly, burying his face in his hands and shutting his eyes tightly.

Law was glancing out of the window now. Something about this conversation reminded him an awful lot of his own dilemma. "You often lose track of your own feelings, much less someone else's..."

"You're not helping me here, you know." He sighed deeply, clenching his eyes even tighter and rubbing at his temples.

"Luffy... Look at me. I understand that you think preciously of Ace... But it might be him who is growing up to be a weak person and is feeling stressed."

"What about you? Baby 5 is confused.", he interjected, earning a stunned look from the man he's been desperately seeking for help.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Baby 5... Grab on tight. You'll fall off." Law was starting to get frustrated. He didn't understand why he had to be the one to carry her back home. Where was Buffalo when you needed him?<p>

She nodded numbly, mumbling something inaudible in his ear.

He sighed heavily, holding onto her legs even tighter.

_Say, Baby 5... Why did you fall in love with me? You're precious to me. So I've been thinking that I needed to turn you down properly if you ever told me that you liked me._

_Something like: 'Why is it me? No matter how much you blow steam on me, I probably won't change.' or 'You're better off finding another guy. You should just stop looking at me.'_

_But... I thought that you'd go away somewhere far out of my reach if I turned you down. _

_It even hurts to look at you because of how much you remind me of myself. Ah... I wonder if I look like that from his perspective... _

_So gullible and persistent._

_But that doesn't matter anymore. Even though I tried to act so distant, I couldn't change a thing._

_And I'm still so gullible and persistent._

_And I still wasn't able to give up on him._

A sudden wetness on the back of his neck interrupts his thoughts. "Ugh. Baby 5, did you just drool on me?"

He froze in his tracks when he realized where the moisture was truly coming from.

"Law, I love you! I love you!", she cried, her sobs shake her body violently as she clings to him.

He started walking again, swallowing the huge lump that had formed in the back of his throat, while a small, pained smile made its way on his lips.

"Mm."

"I love you so much!"

"Mm."

"I love you!"

"Mm."

"I love you so _so_ much!"

"Mm."


End file.
